Extreamly bad credit rebuilding pointers

rrelite

hi guys, long time lurker first time poster.

credit rebuilding, 6 months ago my experian credit score was a dismal 152 after a little work i now have it upto 457 but i seem to have stalled at 457 so im just looking for help in moving forward.

ok im 28 now but when i was a lad i wasnt brilliant when it came to money. im gonna make most people on here who think they have bad credit feel a whole lot better about them selfs!

i got my first capital1 cc at 16 (yes i lied on application) with a limit of £500 spent it and after about 3 months never made a payment again.

about 2 years later i got a £600 overdraft from lloyds tsb (i actually rang up while i was in a club and blew it all on women and beer in one night) again a few months later they took my overdraft away so i left it and changed banks.

i owe halifax £100 which is defaulted on my credit file and i didnt pay it because it was, in my opinion unfair charges, i also owe yorkshire bank £300 again for charges. Natwest i owed £600.

i also owed orange, vodaphone and o2 about £2500 in total.

ok so i think thats all the debt i have ever had.

Now im older and wiser i want to start rebuilding my credit score in the hope of getting a mortgage in a few years time.

i have checked my experian credit report which shows im on electoral register and i have 8 accounts in total

Virgin media 3 late payments in last 12 months

Vanquis cc £100 Paid in full and on time since i had it, about 6 months

THREE contract sim only All payments upto date and on time

nationwide bank account in good stead (no overdraft or credit facility but still reports to experian that its paid every month)

NOW THE BAD

i have 4 defaults

1. capquest £198 marked as satisfied defaulted sept 07

2. Halifax £98 defaulted early 09

3. carphone warehouse £646 defaulted march 08

4. marlin finacial serv £160 defaulted nov 08


to reebuild my credit i have recently (in the last 6 months) opened up a vanquis cc a new nationwide bank account (cash card+ Only) and got a new phone contract with 3 and home phone and tv with virgin.

it seems to have been working since my score went up from 157 to 457 in just six months but now im stuck. i have tried opening more credit accounts to dilute the negativity on my credit file but im getting refused credit.

i have tried getting a few so called easy to get catalogues but refused for them all, i applied for a capital 1 card which i was accepted for but i have to pay £200 deposit for a £200 limit (will this help my cr) today i have applied for a luma cc and thought i was accpected cos it asked me to sign a credit agrrement but then said it requires further checks and will get back to me in 7 days so i think i will gewt refused that too, aqua sent me an application form last month which i filled in but got refused on that too.

i really dont know what else to do to improve my score and i seem to be stuck at 457

it would be interesting to know what other people with a similar score have applied for and been accepted/refused on so if you know your credit score i would appreciate some pointers.

i know a large number of credit searches will pull my credit score down

I get paid about £19000 a year plus about another £10k cominjg into my house with my wife.

me and my wife are not finacially connected

also has anybody had a nationwide basic bank account? now i have had it a while and paying my wages into monthly would it be worth seeing if they will upgrade it to a real current account?

Sorry for the long winded post but i wanted to give as much detail as possible so maybe some one else can give me some pointers

thanks for any help you can give me.

rrelite

would also like to know i once had a contract with vodaphone which got to £1400 before it defaulted, i didnt pay it but the default is now gone from my credit score as it was about 8 years ago. i know that the credit bureus can only keep it on file for 6 years from date of default but how long can vodaphone keep my details? if i applied for a phone today (i have on intentions of applying) would it flash up on their system saying no way we know him from years back or do they also have to delte me from their records after so long@

thanks

kloana

rrelite wrote: »

credit rebuilding, 6 months ago my experian credit score was a dismal 152 after a little work i now have it upto 457 but i seem to have stalled at 457 so im just looking for help in moving forward.

Ignore Experian and their numbers, focus on the whole picture.

Virgin media 3 late payments in last 12 months

Not good or helpful, and this kind of 'credit' does little to affect your credit rating, unless you miss payments. If you can't/won't pay it, terminate your contract, assuming you're able to do so. As 1/4 payments missed during the last year indicates that you can't/won't pay.

Vanquis cc £100 Paid in full and on time since i had it, about 6 months

Good and helpful - why not just stick to this? Getting another credit card won't help whilst you're still messing Virgin around, and whilst you still have those defaults. Not until those defaults have 'dropped off' (6 years) are you going to have anything resembling a good credit history, no matter what your Experian score tells you.

As for Luma, non-acceptance is likely, credit history aside. Because they're owned by Capital One. if you've accepted the C1 credit card (your post isn't clear on this), Luma will decline you. at least they do in most cases.

[Deleted User]

First thing to do is stop applying for stuff as too many searches against your record give the impression of desperation for credit which isn't a good thing.

The best advice I can give is just to slow down, focus on the account that you have and operating them well. If you have been accepted for the Cap 1 card then you might as well pay the deposit and use the card (you'll get the £200 back when you cancel). That should give you two credit cards to work with so use each of them each month and pay off in full. Try to use them as much as possible for normal spending (ie don't use your debit card) but make sure that you stay within the limit and have the money to repay in full. Try not to max the cards out each month though. It's a bit of a balancing act but try to stay under 70%ish of the limit.

The stuff that you're doing now if fine but it will take a bit of time - mainly for the defaults to start dropping off your file. This will take six years from the time that the default was recorded.

Let me say again though, stop applying for stuff! You don't need loads of different accounts to build good credit and having too many might result in you missing payments again.

Oh and someone will be along soon to bang on about how the experian credit score is worthless.

Are you paying £14.99 a month for credit expert? If so, phone them and cancel, it's way overpriced. Instead sign up for noodle as it is free (although only updated once a month).

giorgio992

My advice....stop applying for credit, multiple applications will dent your score and give the impression that you are desperate.


With regards to your nationwide account as long as its been open for more than 6 months, you have not been overdrawn and you've been making monthly regular credits I don't see why they wouldn't consider upgrading you. Your defaults may mean it will be declined however, depends how much weighting nationwide gives you account management against your external crdit score

rrelite

thanks for the advise guys, virgin late payments were down to them getting my direct debit wrong for the first three months but its all sorted now and every payment since has been in full and on time. i know that multiple searches damages my score but i was under the impression that the more good credit i can get the better my score?

yes im paying experian £14 a month but thats only because i want to keep a close eye on my accounts and make sure i dont miss any thing, also seeing the score (i know it counts for nothing) go up keeps me motivated towards reaching my goal. im also registered with noodle and they score me 2 out of 5 but i dont find it any where near as detailed as experian. i cant register with expedia for some reason.

i checked my parents credit score for them last week and both experian scores were 999 with perfect accounts and no missed payments on anything ever.

i read some where if they name me on one of their credit cards as an authorised user that will help my score too. any truth to this?

in the mean time it looks like ill stick to what i have, 2 cc i phone contract and my bank account and wait for the defaults to drop off, after all as i understand it the last default will be off in less than two years.

one last thing though, when the defaults do start dropping off will my score gradually get better the less i have or is one default as bad as having 4 defaults?

thanks for all the help much appreciated

[Deleted User]

Less defaults are better than more and I think lenders do view it on a sliding scale. Having one or two defaults, especially very old ones should be viewed more favourably than having several. Mistakes do happen after all!

I have one or two very old and about to expire late payment markers from my time at uni but they haven't stopped me being accepted for a First Direct account and gold card, two American Express cards, a Santander current account and an MBNA American Airlines Amex/Visa card all in the last year! A bit naughty of me to apply for so much in 12 months but all have been operated well and I must be at least £1000 up from the various bonuses, cashback, foursquare deals etc.

If the Virgin defaults were genuinely their fault then you may be able to ask them to remove them from your credit file. I've never had to do this so maybe someone else on the forum can advise about this.

I know what you're saying about the Experian score giving you motivation but it's £180 a year! You mentioned that your salary was about £19,000 so you're effectively paying 1% of your earnings for the privilege. I would seriously think about closing if I were you...

What do you mean the noodle account isn't as detailed? Are there accounts missing or something?

As far as being on your parents accounts... I'm not sure to be honest. I think different companies have different policies. If you are an additional cardholder and the account shows up on your credit record then I'd be tempted to say that yes it will help. Again, someone with better knowledge than me might be able to help. If this is the case though, you will probably have a credit search so maybe best not to do this for the time being.

I would say that you should as nationwide about upgrading your account. After that use your vanquis and capital one cards whenever possible but don't max them out. In six months all of the searches will have dropped off your credit file and you could possibly think about asking nationwide for a credit card but might be worth waiting until nearer the end of the year. I believe banks put more weight in how you have been operating your account with them so if you have an overdraft with nationwide, try to stay out of it.

If you can do this then in two years time more of your defaults will be gone and you'll have a fairly solid history so you can then think about applying for more mainstream products.

[Deleted User]

rrelite wrote: »

i read some where if they name me on one of their credit cards as an authorised user that will help my score too. any truth to this?

No - it will do nothing for your score, and more importantly, nothing for your credit file. They're responsible for their account, not you.

willLeeds

Its all about time... I thought mine was bad until i read yours. haha

I had three defaults, from being 'Young'

1. Overdraft - £1700 Default (Now paid back)
2. Egg Card - £500 Default (Now paid back)
3. Mobile Phone - £120 Default (Now paid back)

Ive been trying hard for about 3 years now, everything is paid back, i have a Capital One card which has just had its first limit rased last month after 1 year, and my first default is about to drop of my account after 6 years in Jan of next year.

I got to the same point as you where i had done everything, anyone on here had advised about building credit. But the no.1 thing is time scale.

You need to prove for number of years that you can be trusted with credit and manage your accounts well.

Good Luck.

wiseshark

rrelite wrote: »

i got my first capital1 cc at 16 (yes i lied on application) with a limit of £500 spent it and after about 3 months never made a payment again.

about 2 years later i got a £600 overdraft from lloyds tsb (i actually rang up while i was in a club and blew it all on women and beer in one night) again a few months later they took my overdraft away so i left it and changed banks.

i owe halifax £100 which is defaulted on my credit file and i didnt pay it because it was, in my opinion unfair charges, i also owe yorkshire bank £300 again for charges. Natwest i owed £600.

i also owed orange, vodaphone and o2 about £2500 in total.


Ahh:rotfl:To be so young.:D

iAMaLONDONER

rrelite wrote: »

hi guys, long time lurker first time poster.

credit rebuilding, 6 months ago my experian credit score was a dismal 152 after a little work i now have it upto 457 but i seem to have stalled at 457 so im just looking for help in moving forward.

ok im 28 now but when i was a lad i wasnt brilliant when it came to money. im gonna make most people on here who think they have bad credit feel a whole lot better about them selfs!

i got my first capital1 cc at 16 (yes i lied on application) with a limit of £500 spent it and after about 3 months never made a payment again.

about 2 years later i got a £600 overdraft from lloyds tsb (i actually rang up while i was in a club and blew it all on women and beer in one night) again a few months later they took my overdraft away so i left it and changed banks.

i owe halifax £100 which is defaulted on my credit file and i didnt pay it because it was, in my opinion unfair charges, i also owe yorkshire bank £300 again for charges. Natwest i owed £600.

i also owed orange, vodaphone and o2 about £2500 in total.

ok so i think thats all the debt i have ever had.

Now im older and wiser i want to start rebuilding my credit score in the hope of getting a mortgage in a few years time.

i have checked my experian credit report which shows im on electoral register and i have 8 accounts in total

Virgin media 3 late payments in last 12 months

Vanquis cc £100 Paid in full and on time since i had it, about 6 months

THREE contract sim only All payments upto date and on time

nationwide bank account in good stead (no overdraft or credit facility but still reports to experian that its paid every month)

NOW THE BAD

i have 4 defaults

1. capquest £198 marked as satisfied defaulted sept 07

2. Halifax £98 defaulted early 09

3. carphone warehouse £646 defaulted march 08

4. marlin finacial serv £160 defaulted nov 08


to reebuild my credit i have recently (in the last 6 months) opened up a vanquis cc a new nationwide bank account (cash card+ Only) and got a new phone contract with 3 and home phone and tv with virgin.

it seems to have been working since my score went up from 157 to 457 in just six months but now im stuck. i have tried opening more credit accounts to dilute the negativity on my credit file but im getting refused credit.

i have tried getting a few so called easy to get catalogues but refused for them all, i applied for a capital 1 card which i was accepted for but i have to pay £200 deposit for a £200 limit (will this help my cr) today i have applied for a luma cc and thought i was accpected cos it asked me to sign a credit agrrement but then said it requires further checks and will get back to me in 7 days so i think i will gewt refused that too, aqua sent me an application form last month which i filled in but got refused on that too.

i really dont know what else to do to improve my score and i seem to be stuck at 457

it would be interesting to know what other people with a similar score have applied for and been accepted/refused on so if you know your credit score i would appreciate some pointers.

i know a large number of credit searches will pull my credit score down

I get paid about £19000 a year plus about another £10k cominjg into my house with my wife.

me and my wife are not finacially connected

also has anybody had a nationwide basic bank account? now i have had it a while and paying my wages into monthly would it be worth seeing if they will upgrade it to a real current account?

Sorry for the long winded post but i wanted to give as much detail as possible so maybe some one else can give me some pointers

thanks for any help you can give me.

How did you get a card without being on the electoral roll? Didn't they do a credit check / ask for proof of ID?

I'm glad to hear your recovering!